Human Rights Watch slams 'indiscriminate attacks against civilians' in new report; states that in many cases, Israeli claims that Hizbullah was using civilians as human shields proved false

Ynetnews |Published: 03.08.06 , 08:52

The international watchdog group Human Rights Watch
claims in a newly published report that the IDF has been committing indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Lebanon
that at certain cases amount to war crimes. "Israeli forces have systematically failed to distinguish between combatants and civilians in their military campaign against Hizbullah
in Lebanon," the organization stated.

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In previous reporting, Human Rights Watch has addressed the conduct of Hizbullah forces, condemning its attacks on civilian areas as serious violations of international humanitarian law amounting to war crimes.

“Hizbullah fighters must not hide behind civilians – that’s an absolute – but the image that Israel has promoted of such shielding as the cause of so high a civilian death toll is wrong,” Roth said. “In the many cases of civilian deaths examined by Human Rights Watch, the location of Hizbullah troops and arms had nothing to do with the deaths because there was no Hizbullah around.”

According to the HRW, none of the Israeli attacks documented in the report resulted in Hizbullah casualties or the destruction of weapons. "Rather, the attacks have killed and wounded civilians who were fleeing their homes after the IDF issued instructions to evacuate."

“Israeli warnings of imminent attacks do not turn civilians into military targets,” said Roth. “Otherwise, Palestinian militant groups might ‘warn’ Israeli settlers to leave their settlements and then feel justified in attacking those who remained.”